Flames appear again this week in Palisades in the Pacific Ocean as federal agents conduct controlled fire tests to determine the cause of the January fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
More than four months after the US Alcohol Service began investigating cigarettes, firearms and explosives, it began investigating the Pallisard fire.
Officials believe the Palisade fire began around 10:30am on January 7th. Fire tests begin on Tuesday evening and run through Thursday, according to the ATF. Investigators hope to help determine how the Palisades caught fire, the exact point of origin, and how they ran from the hill to the sea during a massive storm.
Sources familiar with the investigation say the focus is on whether the fireworks sparked eight acres of flames a week ago.
Los Angeles firefighters said staff will be present before, during and after all tests to ensure public safety and environmental protection.
So far, investigators have not ruled out that the fire had somehow been set on the morning of January 7th. In both scenarios, they say that there is no electric pole near the cause and the trail area is well traveled, so the cause of the fire is likely to be fed to humans. Without a cause, some homeowners have sued, claiming that the power lines have facilitated the destruction.
The Los Angeles Fire Department and Mayor Karen Bass’ offices use ongoing investigations to maintain exceptional secrets about the city’s preparations and response to Inferno, one of the three major fires that broke out that day.
With billions of damages, the Palisade fire may be the most expensive disaster in LA’s history. Already, the early recall campaign targets Bass, which is being re-elected next year. The mayor has been heavily criticized for traveling to Ghana three days before the fire, despite predictions of dangerous winds that have become increasingly miserable after she left.
On January 1st, the Luckman fire was reported at about 12:17am on the hillside above Palisade in the Pacific Ocean by residents, located in a home about two blocks from the popular Skull Rock Trail. A source with knowledge of the investigation that is not permitted to speak publicly told The Times, where Luckman’s fire appears to have been caused by fireworks.
The water-dropping helicopters initially were unable to fly due to the wind, but at about 1:40am they began launching air attacks to assist the ground crew. News footage has earned a charge, and walls of flames towering over homes and firefighters are rushing into the backyard.
After 3:30am, firefighters reported that the flames had stopped moving forward.
About an hour later, LAFD reported that the firefighters “completed a hose line around the fire, and was fully included.” However, some firefighters remained on the scene to wipe away the remaining hot spots and prevent the fire from flaking again.
Assistant Chief Joe Everett, who assists in overseeing the LAFD’s West Bureau, including Palisard in the Pacific, said firefighters felt the heat remaining along the edge of the fire, excavated all the live spots and performed a cold driving operation in a spot soaked in the rim of the fire so nothing could escape later.
In the aftermath of the January fire, investigators scrutinized the trail and hillside parts and disassembled them into grids. They investigated 250 leads, obtained 90 hours of related videos, and conducted 50 interviews.
On February 21, Bass removed Lafd Kristin Crowley as fire chief, deploying it as a reason before Crowley’s deployment decision. The Times reported in January that Crawley and her staff had chosen not to order 1,000 firefighters to work for their second shift in the morning of the attack. Crawley and her firefighters said they weren’t holding the shift because they didn’t have enough engines for many of those firefighters.
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